Nigeria: Press spotlights nationwide blackout as workers shut down power grid, others

The report that the Transmission Company of Nigeria has announced the complete shutdown of Nigeria’s power grid by labour unions as the strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress begins dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Punch reports that the Transmission Company of Nigeria has announced the complete shutdown of Nigeria’s power grid by labour unions as the strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress begins on Monday.
NLC and TUC commenced a nationwide industrial action on Monday in protest against the N60,000 minimum wage proposal of the Federal Government.
Announcing the shutdown of the national power grid in a statement issued on Monday morning by TCN spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah, the transmission firm said the action was deliberately done by the workers.
The statement was titled, “Grid shutdown: Union Deliberately shuts down the National Grid.”
It read in part, “The Transmission Company of Nigeria hereby informs the general public that the labour union has shut down the national grid, resulting in a blackout nationwide. The national grid shut down occurred at about 2.19am this morning, June 3, 2024.
“At about 1:15am this morning, the Benin Transmission Operator under the Independent System Operations unit of TCN reported that all operators were driven away from the control room and that staff that resisted were beaten while some were wounded in the course of forcing them out of the control room. Without any form of control or supervision, the Benin Area Control Centre was brought to zero.
“Other transmission substations that were shut down by the labour union include the Ganmo, Benin, Ayede, Olorunsogo, Akangba, and Osogbo transmission substations. Some transmission lines were equally opened due to the ongoing activities of the labour union.”
The newspaper says that the organised labour has shut down all entry points of aviation agencies at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja to press home their demands for the implementation of a new National Minimum Wage.
This action has, however, affected flight operations at the nation’s busiest airport as airlines as passengers were left stranded at the airport entrances.
This is coming barely 24 hours after the Aviation unions directed its members to withdraw services across airports in Nigeria.
The unions decided after an emergency meeting held on Sunday.
On Friday, organised labour members announced an indefinite nationwide strike in response to the Federal Government’s refusal to increase the proposed minimum wage from N60,000.
The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero stated that the strike would commence at midnight on Sunday, June 2, 2024.
Reading from a jointly prepared speech with his Trade Union Congress counterpart, Festus Osifo, the NLC leader expressed “grave concern and disappointment” over the Federal Government’s failure to finalize and enact a new National Minimum Wage Act and to reverse the increase in electricity tariffs to N65/kWh.
Vanguard newspaper reports that the Federal Government borrowed N20.1 trillion from domestic investors in the first year of President Tinubu’s administration, representing year-on-year YoY increase of 117 per cent from the previous year, prompting concerns over impact on the economy including likely additional pressure on inflation, increased debt service cost and higher borrowing cost from businesses.
Analysts noted that the sharp increase in Federal Government’s borrowing has the potential to compound the historic high inflationary trend in the country which may lead to further interest rate hikes by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and by extension increased cost of borrowing for businesses and individuals.
The Federal Government borrows from the domestic investors through issuance of FGN Bonds, FGN Savings Bonds, and Sukuk Bonds by the Debt Management Office, DMO. In addition to these are the Nigeria Treasury Bills, NTBs, issued by the CBN on behalf of the Federal Government.
Financial Vanguard analysis of data from the DMO and CBN showed that in the 12 months ending May 31st (June 2023 to May 2024), also the first year of President Bola Tinubu, the Federal Government borrowed N20.09 trillion through these instruments, representing YoY increase of 117 per cent from the N9.275 trillion borrowed in the previous 12 months, namely June 2022 to May 2023.
Most of the increase in borrowing was through the NTBs auctions conducted by the CBN, which also constituted 66 per cent of FG’s domestic borrowing during the period.
According to data from CBN, FG’s borrowing through NTBs rose YoY by 188 per cent to N13.235 trillion in the 12 months ending May 2024 from N4.592 trillion in the 12 months ending May 2023.
The newspaper says that power generation companies in Nigeria, GenCos, yesterday raised the alarm over the imminent collapse of their operations, following a huge debt of N2 trillion and an estimated funding gap of N1.7 trillion contained in the 2024 Multi-Year Tariff Order.
The companies said so far, only about 10 per cent of its monthly invoices for power supplied to the national grid were being paid.
The GenCos in a statement issued by their board Chairman, Col. Sani Bello, retd, said the companies have continued to bear the full brunt of the liquidity challenges facing the Nigerian electricity market.
Bello noted that of all the crises facing the sector, cash liquidity was on the top burner and had reduced GenCos’ ability to continue to perform their obligations, thereby threatening to completely undermine the electricity value chain.
He said: “Notwithstanding this and other severe difficulties the GenCos have battled with since takeover in 2013, they have kept to the terms of their contractual agreements by ramping up capacity which has largely suffered systemic constraints.
“GenCos on their part as responsible investors, with patriotic zeal have made large scale investments and have continued to demonstrate absolute commitment by ramping capacities in line with their contract these over 10 years, amid system constraints, policies & regulations that are not investors friendly, increasing debts owed by the FGN without a clear financing plan, lack of firm contracts and a market devoid of guarantees but based on best endeavours, thereby hampering future planning and expansion.
GIK/APA